Getty Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket on Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game Five of the Western Conference quarterfinals during the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
Damian Lillard originally hails from Northern California out of Oakland. To finish Portland’s Western Conference 1st Round series win against the Thunder last week, he sent two former SoCal boys back to Oklahoma City empty-handed.
With his 37-foot triple in Game 5, Lillard not only reached 50 points, but he clinched a 118-115 victory over Russell Westbrook (Lawndale), Paul George (Palmdale) and the Thunder. The moment has possibly lifted the Trail Blazers guard into the superstar tier of NBA talent. 4 All-Star appearances and a 23.5 points per game career average help out the case.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder has come a long way to reach this juncture in his 7-year career. Let’s take a look at his path to stardom, starting with high school.
Damian Lillard High School Stats & Accolades
Lillard started out his career at Saint Joseph Notre Dame in Alameda (Calif.) right next to his hometown of Oakland. The Catholic prep school produced Jason Kidd in the mid-90s.
According to Mitch Stephens at MaxPreps, he transferred to Oakland High after his sophomore season. Despite posting 22.4 points and 5.2 assists per game as a senior (and 19.4 ppg as a junior), his Oakland coach Orlando Watkins didn’t expect much out of Lillard.
Back then Watkins wouldn’t have predicted his prized pupil to be Rookie Player of the Year — not even a NBA player — but he knew “that he’d make money playing basketball.”
The numbers contradict with his Weber State bio, which said that the First-Team All-Leaguer notched 28 points per game with a high of 45.
He naturally feels the tighter connection to Oakland High. He helped raise money for the school to improve its gym and music facilities (with the help of rap artists) in Dec. 2016, according to Marc Spears of The Undefeated.
Lillard and Adidas donated money to help refurbish Oakland High’s gym, add a new scoreboard and build a desperately needed weight room that led to the disposal of aged steel weights. Lillard, who is also known by his rap name “Dame Dolla” and recently released an album called The Letter O, spearheaded the transformation of the closet of a music room he once used to a greatly enlarged space with new computers, a drum set, turntables, production equipment and soundproof recording studio. Rap stars Fetty Wap, DJ Esco and Lil Uzi Vert also performed on a makeshift stage before Lillard’s arrival for the students, who knew all the latest dances and hip-hop slang. The students received admittance for good behavior and class attendance.
Damian Lillard College Recruitment
Lillard earned a 3-star rating per 247 Sports for the 2008 recruiting cycle. This included a No. 214 overall ranking, No. 48 out of point guards and No. 20 out of California.
He received a smattering of offers from mid-major programs such as SMU, Saint Mary’s and San Diego State among others. He eventually committed to Weber State, a Big Sky school in Ogden (Utah), on June 30, 2008.
In an article with the Odgen-based Standard-Examiner, Lillard explained his closeness to Wildcat head coach Randy Rahe.
“I think they look at it like, ‘man, they’re really tight, they’re really like family to each other.’ That’s just what it is. We don’t have to try to make it seem like it’s something that it’s not. We’ve been tight like that since I was here and it’s just continued.”
After 3 years and 1,934 points, he bolted for the 2012 NBA Draft, where Portland snagged him with the No. 6 overall pick. He notched 19 points and 6.5 assists per game in his debut season, earning him Rookie of the Year honors.
Flash forward to today, and Lillard has gone from a little-known former high school transfer to a very good college player to one of the most clutch scorers in the NBA.